Ichiraku
by Jay Klein
Summary: It was supposed to be another usual day at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, but when a question was suddenly asked, a whole chain of events began to occur. Memories of the past flood back as stories are told. Major pairings: SasuSaku, NaruSaku
1. Just Another Usual Day

Ichiraku

Summary: It was supposed to be another usual day at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. It was supposed to be another usual day with customers coming and going. It was supposed to be another usual day with a young blonde-haired genin coming to eat. It was supposed to be another usual day at Ichiraku… But when a question was asked, a whole slew of events began to occur. Memories, promises, battles, and people of the past came flooding back as stories began to unfold in this tiny little ramen stand. Today was just not another usual day at the Ichiraku Ramen Stand.

Pairings: It changes in certain chapters, but the major pairings to look out for in this story are: Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Sakura. Which will it end with? I won't ruin it for you, so just read on.

Please note that the romance develops very slowly in this story so I ask that you please be patient. It will come.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own _Naruto_.

**Chapter 1:**

**Just Another Usual Day**

The sounds of hissing from the stove and the chattering of people could be heard in one particular ramen stand. It was bustling with commotion as a young waitress served the orders of several people. For the Ichiraku Ramen Stand, it was always normal for it to be busy during this time of the day. But, as the owner of the stand already knew, it was also normal for the commotion to abruptly stop whenever a young, blond-haired genin stepped foot inside the tiny restaurant. The whole place would then be filled with whispers and glares before the visitors made their leave. In the end, only the sizzling sound coming from the stove would reign over the ramen stand. This never stopped the young waitress from greeting their customer, however.

"Ah! Naruto-kun! Welcome!" The young woman greeted the blond.

"Hey, Ayame-neechan…" Naruto replied.

"Eh? Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto seemed to break away from his thoughts and rubbed the back of his head.

"A-Ah… Hehe… Sorry about that, Ayame-neechan. I-I was just thinking that's all, hehe…" Naruto replied, a little embarrassed at his behavior.

Ayame giggled. "Well, come in and have a seat. What would you like for today?"

"I want some spicy shrimp ramen, old man!" Naruto exclaimed to the burly man cooking on the stove.

"Oi, Naruto! You gonna pay, this time?"

"Of course, old man! I just got paid for my recent mission! Besides, you shouldn't be complaining! Without me, you're business would've been gone a long time ago!"

The owner smiled. "Always full of energy, aren't ya, Naruto? Haha, well I wouldn't expect anything less from my number one customer, after all."

Naruto grinned. He sat down on a stool and waited before Ayame came back with his order a few minutes later.

"Here, you are, Naruto-kun. Enjoy!" Ayame said with a smile.

"Thanks, Ayame-neechan!" Naruto replied as he started to gulp down his ramen bowl immediately.

The young waitress couldn't help but giggle at his behavior as she watched him eat his food energetically. To think, that this young man had always been coming to this ramen stand since he was very little. Ayame couldn't help but wonder.

"Umm… Hey, Naruto-kun? Why is it that you always come here everyday? There's a lot more ramen stands in Konoha than just us you know," Ayame suddenly asked.

The question seemed to surprise Naruto as he began to choke on a ramen noodle.

"Ah, sorry! sorry!" Ayame exclaimed as she handed Naruto a glass of water. "Here, drink this."

Naruto drank the water in three gulps. "Hah… that felt good."

"Sorry about that Naruto-kun," the young woman apologized.

"Eh? Ah, don't worry about it. I just ate too fast is all." Naruto replied.

A moment of silence seemed to pass between them before Ayame finally broke it.

"Umm… about the question I asked earlier... You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Ayame told the young man sitting in front of her.

"It's alright, Ayame-neechan… I can tell you why. Actually, it was one of my happiest memories when I was still little." Naruto replied with a small smile.

The blonde's reply seemed to get the owner's attention as he immediately stopped whatever he was doing.

"But before I can tell you the story, I have a favor to ask..." Naruto began.

"Sure, Naruto-kun. What do you need?" Ayame asked with a smile.

Naruto leaned in closer and whispered to the waitress, "Can you give me the next bowl of ramen for free?"

Ayame couldn't help but laugh at his request. The owner also seemed to have heard as well and began to chuckle to himself.

"Oi, Naruto! You may be keeping this business alive for now, but I swear that it'll also be you who'll make me go bankrupt someday, always asking for free ramen..." the old man started to say to the genin, "…But for today, I'll overlook it…" he finished as he set down a new bowl of ramen in front of the blonde.

"Haha! Thanks, old man! You haven't changed a bit since I met you all those years ago." Naruto smiled at the burly man.

"And you're attitude's still as childish as before," the old man retorted back with a grin.

Ayame looked puzzled as she watched the two in front of her talk to each other.

"Ah, well, anyway, it looks like you better answer her question, Naruto. It looks like she's getting more confused," the old man said, pointing to Ayame with a befuddled expression on her face.

Naruto gave a light chuckle at the young woman's state. "Well, Ayame-neechan. I'll answer your question now… It'll be better if I tell you what exactly happened that day, a few years ago…"

Ayame listened carefully as Naruto began his story—the day he chose to come eat at the tiny ramen stand known as Ichiraku.

A/N: I know, I know… this chapter's very short, but I intended it to be that way. Read on if you want to know why.

I was playing the song _Piano Man_ on the piano, when I thought up of this idea of stories at a bar. I thought it would be pretty cool if I could do it with the _Naruto_ cast, so I started doing some outlines and this is what I came up with.

Anyway, expect this story to be going from past to present from now on. The chapters have been outlined in a way so that it will not confuse the reader. This chapter, for example is actually supposed to be longer since it contains the flashback with Naruto, but I wanted to make it so that the flashbacks would be in different chapters so I separated them. Also, there will be short chapters and very long chapters depending on the story being told. Just so everyone knows, the whole story has already been written on an outline. The individual chapters just have not been written yet.

Also, concerning the pairings… Please read above the disclaimer. Everything is explained there. And once again, I must stress that the romance will develop slowly. So I ask that everyone to please be patient with it.

Well, 'till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	2. Friend

**Chapter 2:**

**Friend**

"Unnn…nnn…" a blond-haired boy started mubling as he rolled around the floor, clutching his stomach. "I'm so hungry… Where is that no good old man? He promised to bring me some food… It's already afternoon and he still hasn't come! Unnnn… I'm so hungry!"

The Third Hokage had promised a nine-year-old Naruto the day before that someone would come by the next day to restock his room with some food. And so when the next morning came, Naruto sat and waited for someone to show up with some food. A couple of hours passed by and Naruto had begun to complain about the long wait.

After rolling around the floor, complaining, for a couple more hours, Naruto finally gave up.

"That guy's not gonna show up is he?" Naruto asked himself. "Ugh… I give up!" He exclaimed to the room.

Impatient and very hungry, Naruto got up from the floor and walked towards a shelf. He reached for a small bag at the top of the shelf and examined it. The bag had a slight bulge, and when he shook it, the clanging sounds of metal could be heard.

"This should be enough to buy me something to eat for today. Good thing I've been saving up some money this year," Naruto told himself.

As Naruto got himself changed, he could not help but growl at the situation he was in right now. "Damn that old man. When I see him again, I'm gonna take that hat of his and shove it up his a—Oh can't forget about my goggles!"

After he was finished getting ready, he left the house in search of some food. He found out, however, that it was not as easy as he thought that it would be. The first shop that he went to started off fine, but when the old lady noticed who she was talking to; she immediately screamed at him and forced him out.

"I will not serve anything to the likes of you! Get out! Out, I say!" the shopkeeper screamed at Naruto as he was pushed out the door.

To the small blond, it seemed that there was some sort of trend. Everywhere he went, he would either be yelled at or forced to leave the premises. He had experienced similar treatment before, so it wasn't new to him, but to be kicked out at _every_ shop and then yelled at for something he did not understand was something completely new to him. He never really understood why some of the villagers didn't like him, but he accepted it anyways. That did not mean, however, that he had to like the treatment; far from it. It hurt him…a lot. He remembered the countless nights he spent crying himself to sleep. It hurt knowing that people hated you, but didn't know why they did. Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

Something wet trailed down his cheek. Reaching up to wipe it off, he noticed that it was a tear.

"Damnit! I promised myself that I wouldn't cry anymore!" Naruto whispered vehemently. "Argh! I hate this! All I want is some food, damnit!" His stomach gave a growl as if agreeing with his statement.

Walking around the road dejected and hungry, Naruto did not notice a couple of kids walking his way. By the time he saw them, it was too late. He had already bumped into a large kid and fell to the ground.

"Ouch! Hey kid, you hit me!" the pudgy kid exclaimed, glaring at Naruto. The kid was about a year older than him and seemed to be the leader of the group, Naruto noticed.

"I did not! 'Sides you were in the way, what with that big body of yours!" Naruto retorted back as he got up off the floor.

The group of kids seemed to respond to his statement as they got ready to pounce on him, but the large ten-year-old stopped them.

"Wait!" the group's leader exclaimed. "You've got guts, you know that kid? Insulting me like that," the pudgy boy told Naruto.

Walking around Naruto as if to examine him, the boy noticed the bag Naruto had been carrying around with him. Curious as to what was inside, the black-haired boy asked what the bag contained.

"What's this? A bag? Hey, hey… what's in this thing?" the boy asked Naruto.

"It's nothing!" Naruto replied as he tried to hide the small bag behind his back.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me."

"It's just something that I carry around with me."

The pudgy boy grinned. "Must be something pretty important then. Tell ya what? How 'bout giving me that bag as payment for hitting me?" he asked.

"To someone as fat as you? I don't think so. 'Sides I didn't hit you. You bumped into me," Naruto replied.

"You're getting on my nerves kid."

"Kid? And what does that make you? You can't even reach the damn table with you're height yo—"

Naruto was interrupted when one of the kids from the group caught him by surprise and tackled him to the ground. The next thing he knew, the large, black-haired kid had punched him in the stomach while another kid from the group grabbed his bag of coins.

"Let's get out of here, before any of the adults see us!" one of the kids shouted.

Naruto felt the large kid get off of him as well as the other one who had tackled him to the ground.

"Psh. You're not worth it," the kids' leader told Naruto as he ran away with his group.

Naruto stayed sprawled on the ground as he watched the kids disappear down the road, too tired to get up and go after them. Time passed by, but Naruto didn't know how long he had been lying down on the ground just staring up at the sky, nor did he care. He had no more money to buy any food and he felt too tired to go back home. So he stayed there on the ground, watching the clouds pass by, until something round blocked his view. Squinting his eyes, Naruto was surprised to find himself looking at a face of an adult.

"What are ya doing down there kid? You wanna get trampled over by a food cart?" the man asked. The burly man didn't look very old, probably around his late thirties to early fourties, and looked to be in shape.

"I don't care. Leave me alone, old man. I'm too tired to get up," Naruto replied. His stomach gave a growl.

The man laughed. "And hungry, too, it seems."

"Y-yeah," Naruto replied, embarrassed by the loud noise his stomach had made.

"Tell ya what, kid? I just finished buying some ingredients for my stand and I'm heading over there right now, so why don't you get on the cart and come with me. You can eat there. I'll cook something up for you." The man said with a smile.

"R-really? You'd do that?" Naruto asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yep, sure will," the man replied.

With renewed energy, Naruto immediately got off of the ground and jumped on the cart filled with various types of food.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go, old man!" the blond-haired boy exclaimed vigorously.

The old man gave a light chuckle. "You're an energetic little fella aren't ya?"

And with that, the two of them set off towards the old man's food stand.

When they finally reached their destination, the old man had asked for help in carrying all the food from the cart to the kitchen. Naruto complied with his request and helped him carry the ones that were not too heavy. After they were finished, the owner of the stand had asked Naruto to wait at the counter as he went to the kitchen to fix up some food. It was only a few minutes later when the old man finally returned with a bowl of what looked to be like ramen.

"Here you go! Fresh off the stove! Special miso ramen!" the burly man said with a smile.

Naruto drooled as he stared at the bowl of ramen coming his way. When it was finally put down on the table, he wasted no time in digging in, hunger winning over manners.

"What…is… this… place…?" Naruto asked in between gulps.

"Glad you asked! This place here is my special ramen stand! I call it the Ichiraku Ramen Stand!" the man exclaimed with much pride in his voice.

"This is good! More please!" Naruto said, excited to finally have food in his stomach.

The old man gave a light chuckle. "No problem, but you better slow down or you might choke on your food."

"Sorry, it's just that I haven't eaten anything since yesterday," Naruto said apologetically.

"Yesterday?" the man asked, surprised.

"Yeah, old man promised me that he'd get me some food today, but nobody showed up, so I went out to go get some food."

"Is that right?" the man whispered, more to himself than Naruto. He felt bad for the kid.

Three more bowls later, Naruto was rubbing his stomach, clearly pleased with what he had eaten. His face had a foxy smile as he let out a little burp.

"Whew. That hit the spot! That was some good food, old man! Thanks!" Naruto grinned.

His grin immediately disappeared, however, when Naruto remembered that he did not have any money with him since it was stolen from that group of kids earlier. He jumped off the stool with a panicked expression on his face. He did not want the old man to find out.

"What am I gonna do? He's going to kill me if he finds out I don't have any money to pay for the food," He whispered to himself.

When the owner of the stand came back from the kitchen, he noticed the expression on Naruto's face.

"Hey, kid! What's wrong?" the old man asked.

"A-ah…nothing…"

"From the look on your face, it doesn't seem to be 'nothing.'"

"I-it's just…It's just that…I kinda…got my money stolen," Naruto said in a hushed whisper.

"Eh? Stolen?"

"Yeah…earlier… That's why you found me laying on the ground. A couple of kids wanted to start a fight and took my money."

"I see…"

The owner looked at the blond closely. He didn't seem to be lying. He really did feel bad for the kid.

"It's on me…" The old man finally said.

"W-what?" Naruto asked surprised.

"I said, 'It's on me.'"

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah… I mean it, kid. Just pay me back next time."

Moved by the owner's response, Naruto exclaimed suddenly, "Mr. Ichiraku owner, old man, sir! You're awesome! From this day forward, I promise to pay you back a hundred fold when I become Hokage!" Naruto shouted vigorously.

The old man couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's promise. It was certainly amusing to hear him say those words. The kid had a big dream.

Their chit-chat stopped immediately, however, when they heard the sounds of footsteps and voices approaching the ramen stand.

"…yeah, their food's great here. Their spicy shrimp ramen is just awesome!"

"Really? That's great! I want to try it out then!"

It sounded like a couple, a man and a woman, Naruto thought. The voices were getting closer, until finally the curtain of the ramen stand was lifted and the two people entered.

"Then I'll be sure to buy you a bow—" the young man abruptly stopped.

"What? What is it?" the young woman at the man's side asked.

The dark-haired young man merely pointed at Naruto with disgust on his face. The young woman gave a slight gasp and whispered something to her partner.

"Let's get out of here… that demon-child's in here," the brunette told the young man.

"Y-yeah…" he replied.

And with that, the couple left the ramen stand in a hurry, quickly walking away as if they were being chased by an attacker.

Unfortunately, the blond-haired boy heard what the woman had said.

"Hmm…well they seemed to be in a hurry; didn't even bother buying a bowl from here. Kids these days have no manners I tell ya." the owner complained to no one in particular.

"It's because of me…" Naruto suddenly answered quietly, head bowed down.

"What?"

"Ever since I could remember, people always treated me differently. They never liked me. And whenever I asked them why, their answer would always be the same, 'Because you're a demon.' I hated it! I hated not knowing why they called me demon! I hated not being able to have any friends because their parents wouldn't let them get close to me! I hated always being the outcast… I hated it…" Naruto finished softly.

The old man was beginning to understand the situation, but he wanted to be sure first.

"Oi, kid! What's you're name anyway?" the ramen shop owner asked.

"N-Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki," was the young boy's meek reply.

The old man's eyes widened when he heard the name. It made a lot of sense, the owner thought. He knew, now, why that couple left in such a hurry; and why no one had come to give him his food. It was because Naruto was none other than the nine-tailed fox demon, Kyuubi!

The old man was about to say something, when Naruto said something that surprised him.

"Thanks, old man…" Naruto said quietly. "…Usually, people would've already shouted at me and then kicked me out… But, you haven't done that yet… Instead, you're one of the only people to have treated me nicely besides the Third."

The owner could only listen as Naruto continued.

"Hey, old man?"

"Yeah?"

"That promise I made to you…I'll definitely keep it… I'll pay you back. I won't go back on my word."

"When you become Hokage right? You'll pay me a hundred fold?" the old man asked, a grin starting to form on his face.

"Yeah… I'll become Hokage and then people won't have to look at me like they do now. They won't have to look down on me. Instead, they'll finally acknowledge me! Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!" Naruto finished off with a foxy grin on his face.

The old man was speechless. He could only smile at the kid's determination. Naruto's little speech actually made him want to cheer for him.

"Well, anyway, I've already caused you enough trouble, old man. I already drove off your customers," Naruto began. "Bye, old man! Thanks for the food!"

As Naruto was heading out of the ramen stand, he stopped when he heard the owner call out his name.

"Oi, Naruto! Just so you know, you're welcome here anytime you want!" the old man exclaimed.

Naruto, once again moved by this old man's statement, could only smile at him. "Thanks, old man. You really are awesome…"

"And kid… the name's Teuchi…" the old man called out.

Naruto turned around once again, ready to leave.

He turned his head towards the owner and said, "Thanks…Teuchi-san…" before finally lifting up the curtain and setting off towards home.

Teuchi could only watch as the curtain fell back into place and listen as the ramen stand became silent. He could only think of one thing to say at this point.

"I'll be rooting for ya, Naruto… I'm sure you'll become a great Hokage some day."

When Naruto finally made it home, he was surprised to find that the place was filled with food that would be able to last him for a couple of weeks.

"Tsch… that old man… he didn't forget after all…" Naruto said with a smile.

It was an interesting day, no a great day, Naruto thought as he lay down on his futon. For the first time in a very long time, he may have made another friend; a friend named Teuchi, owner of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand.

And with that last thought, Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of nothing but ramen.

A/N: Well, that's the end of the second chapter and the flashback scene. The next chapter will be back to the present where more things will happen and more stories will be told. I told you it would be much longer than the first chapter.

And for those of you who are wondering, "Where the hell's the romance?" All I have to say to you is, "Please be patient." It's coming, but I need to build up some events first and have people come in to tell their stories. So until then, please be patient.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter. 'Till next time!

Oh, and I'll be re-editing the first chapter. It looks like there's some mistakes I want to fix up; nothing major that will change the story line, though.

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	3. Iruka

**Chapter 3:**

**Iruka**

"And ever since then, I've been coming to this place everyday," Naruto finished as he concluded his story.

"Wow…" said Ayame in awe. "I never thought that it was because of that chance meeting a few years ago that you chose to keep coming here."

Naruto gave a light chuckle. "Well actually, Ayame-neechan, it wasn't really because of that chance meeting with the old man. The truth is…" Naruto said as he leaned in closer, "It was actually because of _you_ that I really started coming here everyday. You're smile was what did it for me, Ayame-neechan," Naruto finished with a wide smile on his face.

Ayame flushed pink with embarrassment at Naruto's comment. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto couldn't help it anymore and gave a big, hearty laugh at the young waitress' reaction. "I-I'm sorry… Ayame-neechan… I couldn't… help it…" Naruto said in fits of laughter.

"N-Naruto-kun! That was a very mean trick to play on me!" Ayame exclaimed, her face still pink.

Teuchi seemed to join in on the fun a second later and laughed along with Naruto.

"Sorry again, Ayame-neechan…" Naruto told the young waitress a minute later after all the laughter finally settled down.

"Hmph!" was Ayame's only reply as she turned around, her back facing Naruto.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?" Naruto asked, trying to get Ayame to talk to him again.

"…Fine… I'll forgive you…" the waitress sighed as she turned around and faced Naruto once more.

"R-really?" Naruto asked, clearly relieved that Ayame was not angry at him anymore.

"If!" the waitress exclaimed, "If! You tell me why the villagers hated you so much…"

Teuchi, surprised at Ayame's request, could only turn his head away from the two of them and remained quiet. It wasn't his place to say anything; plus he was forbidden to tell her, or anyone else for that matter, about it anyway.

There was a moment of silence before Naruto finally decided to break it. "Ummm… I...umm…w-well, Aya—"

Naruto was saved from explaining everything to Ayame, however, when someone suddenly pulled open the curtain and stepped inside the tiny ramen stand.

"S-sorry… Did I come at a bad time?" the tall man said as he sensed the tense atmosphere in the room.

"I-Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat to greet his former teacher.

"Ah! Naruto-kun!" Iruka greeted Naruto happily. "I guess you couldn't wait anymore and decided to come here before me, huh? Sorry…"

"That's alright, Iruka-sensei… because, you know, I was just reeeeaaally hungry and with you taking too long to dismiss your class I decided to continue on waiting for you," Naruto replied sardonically.

"Sorry…Sorry…" Iruka said apologetically.

"Ah! I'm just kidding with you, Iruka-sensei! I swear, you're too serious sometimes!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

Iruka grinned back.

"So, care to explain what I just walked into?" Iruka asked Naruto as they both took their respected seats at the counter.

"A-ah…yeah…sure…" Naruto replied.

Naruto proceeded to tell Iruka about the recent events that had happened before he interrupted them.

"And so, Ayame-neechan asked why I was hated so much by the villagers, but I couldn't really think of a way to explain things to her, and then you came in," Naruto finished with a sigh.

"I-I see…" Iruka said, looking at Naruto's downtrodden face. He then turned to face Ayame. "Ayame-san…" he said softly.

"Y-yes?" the waitress asked. She knew she was going to get yelled at, she thought. She knew she shouldn't have requested that Naruto answer her question, but it was too late now.

"I can answer your question…" Iruka replied.

"E-eh?"

Ayame was surprised. It looked like she wasn't going to get yelled at after all.

"…But it's more complicated than it seems," Iruka finished.

"What do you mean?" Ayame asked, curious as to what Iruka was talking about.

"You see, there was a law that was passed by the Third Hokage that forbade anyone to talk about it. Do you know anything about that law?"

"No…"

"Well, I guess it's because you were still young when it happened. So, I'm not surprised you haven't really heard about that law. But, anyway…that law pretty much forbade anyone to talk about what happened in the past. And as you can pretty much tell, that law had something to do with Naruto."

"But why?" the waitress asked, "Why was the law made in the first place?"

"Well, generally, the law was supposed to help keep the young ones from ever finding out what really happened…but the law was also supposed to do another thing… It was _supposed_ to keep Naruto protected."

"Protected?"

"Yes… protected… Protected from the insults; protected from the hatred… It was supposed to protect him from all that…With that law, Naruto was supposed to be seen as a hero, instead."

"Naruto-kun? A hero?" Ayame asked, surprised.

"Yes, that's right… Did you know that Naruto-kun, here, saved the village once, when he was younger? But, you see, that's why he was hated. The people refused to see him as a savior, and instead blamed the whole cause of the incident on him."

"But why?"

"Be—"

"Because I'm a demon…" Naruto interrupted.

"Naruto-kun! You're not supposed to talk about it!" Iruka exclaimed.

"I don't care about some stupid law! All I know is that they deserve to know more about me! Friends are supposed to be honest with each other… aren't they, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto finished softly, looking up at his teacher's face.

"Y-yes… that's right, Naruto-kun," Iruka replied.

"Then that's why we should tell them the truth!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto-kun…" Ayame whispered.

"…If that's what you really want, Naruto-kun…" Iruka reluctantly said.

"That's what I want, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto whispered.

"Then go ahead and tell them the truth," Iruka told him.

Naruto gave his teacher a nod.

"We're friends right? Old man? Ayame-neechan?" Naruto asked quietly, turning towards Ayame and Teuchi.

"Of course Naruto-kun!" Ayame immediately replied. "Why would you even ask such a thing?"

"I know why…" Teuchi responded to the young woman's question. "You're afraid that we might change our minds and hate you once we hear. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

Naruto remained silent.

"Well, I guess I'll just go ahead and say it. You worry too much Naruto. I've known who you really were ever since you told me your name."

Naruto looked up towards the owner.

"That's right. I was there when it all happened, so I know about the law…and about you."

Teuchi noticed Naruto looking over at Ayame.

"And as for, Ayame," the old man began, "I doubt she'll change her mind about you. She's known you for many years now."

"That's right! I wouldn't just immediately change the way I think about you Naruto-kun. You said we were friends. And part of being friends is also being able to trust one another," Ayame said, agreeing with her father.

"Besides…if she does change her mind, then I know that I have failed as both a friend and as a father," Teuchi told Naruto.

"D-dad…" the young woman whispered, looking at her father.

"Thank you… old man… Ayame-neechan…" Naruto said softly.

And so Naruto proceeded to tell them the truth about what he really was: a container, or vessel, for the nine-tailed fox demon known only as Kyuubi. Ayame was shocked and cried, but Teuchi was there to calm her down. Silence reigned over the tiny stand as Naruto finished his story. He was getting pretty anxious. Did they think differently of him now that they knew, Naruto thought to himself. It wasn't until Naruto heard Ayame speak, that he began to calm himself.

"I-I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun…" the young woman said, "I never knew…"

"It's alright, Ayame-neechan," Naruto told her, relieved that she did not change her mind about him after all. "I'm just glad that you understand."

"Oi, Naruto! Didn't I tell you not to worry so much?" the old man said with a grin.

Naruto could only smile at him. "Yeah… yeah you did old man."

"Do you see now, Ayame-san? This is why the villagers hate him. This is why the law was created… The adults have hated him for a false reason. It wasn't Naruto who was the cause of the incident, it was the Kyuubi. But even today, the adults refuse to see that. Because they are blinded by revenge and anger, they only see him as the demon-fox. And because of their attitude towards Naruto, their kids picked up on it as well. In the end, the adults hated him because of the Kyuubi; and the kids hated him because that was the way they were raised and taught to act in front of him," Iruka explained to the young woman.

"That is why you hold no malice against Naruto, Ayame. That is why I said I would have failed as a father and a friend if you had changed your mind about Naruto. I knew the real Naruto before you met up with him. It was during that day, so many years ago, when Naruto first came to this shop. It was on that day that I saw the difference between a demon and a child… And what I saw in front of me was nothing more than an innocent child wanting to be accepted. And so I raised and taught you not to hate him…because I knew Naruto didn't deserve it, not one bit." Teuchi told his daughter.

Ayame could merely nod at both her father and Iruka as words seemed to fail her.

A couple minutes of silence seemed to pass as everyone seemed to be digesting everything that had happened between them.

Ayame was the first to break the silence. "Iruka-sensei…" she suddenly called out.

"Hm?"

"I was just thinking… if everyone hated Naruto-kun because of what happened; because of what they really knew, then did that mean…you hated Naruto-kun also?" Ayame quietly asked.

"Of course not! Iruka-sensei has liked me ever since he met me!" Naruto laughed. "He was one of the first people to actually accept me. He would never hate me! Right, sensei?" Naruto asked, looking at his former teacher.

Iruka only looked away, guilt invading his body. He could not look at Naruto.

"Right?" Naruto asked again.

Iruka remained quiet, the guilt becoming overwhelming.

"Right, Iruka-sensei? You would never hate me, right?" Naruto whispered quietly, afraid and anxious because of his teacher's silence.

"I-It's not entirely true Naruto-kun…" Iruka softly said.

"W-w-what do you mean sensei?" Naruto asked with his eyes wide.

"…There was a time… when I… when I didn't like you…" Iruka finished in a whisper.

Everyone in the room was surprised at this revelation, Naruto the most of all.

"When I was little, I actually hated you… There were even times when I actually wanted to kill you…but then I met you in the academies... I disliked you then, but the more I got to know you through the years, the more I began to like you as a person…" Iruka explained.

"But why!" Naruto asked vehemently. "What would have made you hate me so much! What would have made you want to kill me!"

Iruka remained silent.

"The fox…" Naruto whispered, "It was because of that damned fox wasn't it? It was because the fox was inside me… that's why you hated me… just like everyone else…"

"Yes!" his teacher exclaimed. "I mean, no! It's just that… It was because of what that demon did! I wanted revenge, Naruto-kun… I wanted revenge for something that the Kyuubi took away from me… I was young and naïve; and I didn't even know who you were…" Iruka finished, a few tears flowing down his cheek.

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto softly whispered.

"I guess I should tell you what happened, huh? What made me hate you; what made me want to kill you… I should tell you everything. You deserve to know. You are a friend after all. And you said friends are always honest with each other, right?"

Naruto nodded in response. "That's right…"

"Then I'll tell you…from the very beginning…when it all started," Iruka said.

As Iruka composed himself, so as to be ready to tell his story, Naruto turned to face Teuchi.

"Hey, old man… mind serving some ramen for my friend and me?"

A/N: Alright, looks like another chapter is done. This means that it's bye-bye present time, and hello flashbacks. The next two chapters will deal with Iruka's past. So be on the look out for them.

Oh, and also one of my reviewers posed a very valid question:

Q: "What age is everyone supposed to be in the present time?"

A: Actually, I left that out for a reason… and I'm sorry to say that you won't find out why until in later chapters. All I'll say is that you _will_ find out the age for one of the major characters later on. And with that one piece of information, you'll be able to estimate everyone else's age. Until then, please be patient with me.

Hint: If you have read my chapters carefully, though, then you might have already guessed what I have planned for that "age thing." I did leave clues after all…

Well, anyway, thanks for reading. 'Till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	4. Struggle

**Chapter 4:**

**Struggle**

"I'm home!" exclaimed a 12-year old Iruka as he stepped into his house.

"Welcome home!" greeted his mother from the kitchen. "How was your mission today?" she asked.

"Troublesome…" Iruka grunted. "I never thought babysitting a little baby could be so hard. They should've ranked it as a C-rank mission, instead of a D-rank."

"Oh? Why, what happened?" his mother asked.

"Well, the baby just kept on crying no matter what we tried to do. It just complained about everything. After changing his diaper, he'd start crying. After feeding him, he'd start crying. While playing with him, he'd start crying. It was impossible to please the kid," the young genin complained.

Iruka's mother gave a chuckle at his complaining. "You know," she said, "you were like that when you were a little baby, too…but at least now you know what we had to go through with you."

"Yeah, I guess… but taking care of the baby wasn't the only thing that irked me. It was also the parents. They were just horrible," Iruka complained. "When we got to the house, we heard a lot of screaming and yelling coming from the inside. We didn't really pay attention to it then, but after they came back from their little trip, that's when we saw something that should never be allowed at all… They had asked how the baby was, so we told them that there was a little bit of trouble here and there but that everything turned out all right in the end. And then you know what they did? The mother went up to the baby and slapped it. Slapped it! Right in front of us! The father even started yelling at the kid, saying how he was nothing but trouble for everyone… And then he had the nerve to apologize to us about the baby's behavior!"

"How awful…" his mother replied.

"Yep… Sensei stepped in, though. He gave them a big lecture afterwards. I don't know what he said or did, but after that, the parents changed their attitudes completely."

"Well, at least those people have settled down somewhat, though I doubt they'll do a complete turnaround," the woman smiled.

Iruka smiled back. "Yeah… but I just hope that the baby doesn't turn out to be like them."

"You know, even though those parents were horrible to their baby; it's still just an innocent child and can't really do any harm," the raven-haired woman started. "There's always a way to break out of that kind of cycle. If the child sees compassion from others, he will learn from them and apply it. If the child is constantly surrounded by loving friends, then he doesn't have to become like his parents. He only really wants acceptance from them, and without it, the cycle will continue on because he'll just become spiteful towards them and then take out his anger on others. But as long as his friends continue to support and show him love, then there's no need for him to be like that. Their acceptance and friendship will help give him the strength he needs to overcome his hatred," she finished with a smile.

"You and your insightful lectures mom," Iruka groaned, but smiled at her anyway.

His mother gave a light chuckle. "I try," she said, a smile on her face. "Well, anyway, here's some leftover food from dinner. You must be starving after coming back from your little mission."

"Oh, thanks a lot, mom!" exclaimed Iruka. "I haven't had any proper food since this morning!"

After finishing up his dinner, Iruka cleared the table and thanked his mom for the meal. Feeling tired from his earlier mission, Iruka decided that sleep was in order.

"I'm kind of tired from today's mission," Iruka told his mother. "I think I'm gonna go and get some sleep."

"Alright, then. Have a good night, Iru-chan!" his mother said with a playful tone in her voice.

Iruka gave a light chuckle before responding, "Goodnight, mom. Give dad a hug g'nite for me when he gets home?"

"I will."

Iruka gave a parting smile to his mother before proceeding upstairs to his room. He got himself ready and then settled into his futon. He fell asleep a few minutes later.

Iruka's peaceful slumber was interrupted, however, a couple of hours later when the earth violently shook and woke up the sleeping boy.

"Ugh… what's going on?" Iruka asked himself as he sat up from his futon. "Is it an earthquake?"

He heard some sort of rumbling before the sounds of explosions flooded his ears.

"What the hell was that!" Iruka exclaimed, surprised from the blasts. "Are we under attack!" he asked himself as he jumped out of his futon to look outside his window.

Before he could get any closer, however, the door to his room slammed open and saw his mother rushing towards him.

"Iruka! Are you alright?" his mother asked him.

"Y-yeah…" Iruka replied, "But what's going on, mom? Are we under attack?"

"There's no time for that right now! We have to get out of here now!" the woman exclaimed.

Not questioning his mother's commands, Iruka immediately followed his mother out of his room.

"Where's dad?" Iruka asked his mother as they headed down the stairs.

"He's already ahead of us. Right now, he's helping a couple of the villagers evacuate from their homes."

"But why? What's going on?"

Iruka received his answer once they stepped outside of their house. It seemed as if all hell had broken loose in the village of Konoha: trees were in flames; houses were in rubbles, bodies of villagers were being carried by various people; moans and screams surrounded them. It was a ghastly sight to see.

"Oh, god! That demon's loose! What are we gonna do!" Iruka overheard a man telling a fellow shinobi.

"Demon?" Iruka asked himself. He looked up towards his mother, about to ask her about what the man had just said, when he saw her looking up at something. Following his mother's trail of sight, Iruka's eyes widened at what stood before them. Standing over the trees and homes was a gigantic fox with nine tails wrecking havoc on the village.

"W-what the hell is th—" Iruka was interrupted before he could finish his question, however, when a pair of hands suddenly grabbed hold of him and jerked him backwards. A second later, debris fell on where Iruka had been once standing as signs and ornaments fell to the ground.

"Damnit, this place isn't safe anymore!" His mother exclaimed. "We have to reach the gates! You'll be safe with everyone else there."

"But what about dad?" Iruka immediately asked.

"Don't worry, we'll meet up with your father at the gates."

"A-alright…"

A ball of flame suddenly shot towards the house across from them and immediately destroyed it, making debris fly all over the place. Iruka and his mother dodged the flying pieces.

"We can't stay here any longer! We have to go!" his mother exclaimed as she grabbed the young boy's hand and urged him to move forward.

Iruka followed his mother's lead as they set off toward the gates of Kohoha.

As they headed towards their destination, they spotted a man trying to help an old woman get on her feet.

"Dad!" Iruka shouted as they got closer to the two figures on the road.

"I-Iruka!" the man asked surprised as he turned around to find the source of the voice. "Iruka! Are you alright!"

"Un…yeah, I'm fine…" Iruka replied.

"Oh, thank goodness…" his father said relieved. "I'm glad you're both safe," he finished softly, looking at his wife.

"Need some help?" his mother asked with a grin on her face.

"No, I got it… She's just a little tired," the raven-haired man told his wife. "You both go on ahead. I'll meet up with you at the gates."

"Alright…but be careful!"

"I will…" the man responded back. "You both be careful as well. Take good care of your mother, alright Iruka?"

"Yeah… I will!" Iruka replied before once again following his mother's lead.

Minutes had gone by as both mother and son proceeded towards their destination. Once they saw a part of the gates come into view, they knew that they were almost there. Iruka's mother gave a sigh of relief as they neared the location.

"We're almost there, Iruka…" the woman said as she turned to her son. "You can make it on your own from here, right?" she asked.

"Y-yeah…" Iruka replied. "But what about you? Aren't you coming with me?" Iruka asked his mother, confused at her question.

"I'm going to go back and help your father a bit. He may not have shown it back there, but I know that he's tired already, so I'm going to go and give him a helping hand," she explained to Iruka.

"Let me go with you then!" the young boy exclaimed.

"No! You're in enough danger as it is. I'm not going to let you dive in even deeper!" she vehemently refused.

"B-but—"

"No buts!" she interrupted. "Now go head toward the gates and wait for us there…We'll meet up with you soon enough. Don't you worry, Iru-chan…" Iruka's mother finished softly.

"A-alright…" Iruka reluctantly replied.

"Good… I'll see you in a bit, alright?"

Iruka did not look back as he heard his mother's footsteps retreating towards the opposite direction.

He knew he should be doing what he was told to do, but as Iruka neared the gates, he was beginning to have second thoughts. His father had told him to take care of his mother; and if he was just waiting around at the gates instead of being with her, how could he possibly fulfill his dad's wishes! The thought about abandoning his promise to his dad made Iruka feel as if he was running away from his responsibilities as a ninja… and a son. With a grunt, Iruka had made up his mind. He immediately halted and changed direction. He would not abandon his mother, he thought.

Iruka ran as fast as he could, trying to catch up with his mother. When he finally found her a couple of minutes later, he was surprised to find his mother in the middle of a confrontation with the fox-demon.

"Mom!" Iruka exclaimed. But the second Iruka had called for her; he had immediately realized his horrible mistake.

When his mother had heard him, she immediately turned around, clearly surprised to see him standing there. That one moment gave the fox a chance to strike.

"Iru—" The demon's attack did not give the woman a chance to finish. With one swipe from its powerful claws, Iruka's mother was savagely thrown to the side, plowing her into a building.

"Mother!" Iruka screamed at the top of his lungs as he quickly ran towards the building in which she was thrown.

When he made it inside the building, he was horrified to see his mother lying underneath a pile of rubble. Not wasting any time, Iruka immediately lifted the fallen debris off of his mother with unknown strength. Once he was able to lift enough to free his mother, he fell to the ground next to her, calling out her name; urging her to wake up and open her eyes.

His mother was a horrid sight to see. Blood was all around her and her left arm was twisted in a grotesque manner, but Iruka didn't care just as long as she was alive.

"Mom! Wake up! Wake up! C'mon, open your eyes already!" Iruka shook her body as he called for his mother. "Say something! Damnit…say something…anything…" he said softly as tears cascaded down his cheeks. He choked back a sob. "Mom…" he whispered, laying his head down on his mother's chest.

Iruka began to cry harder.

"I-Ir…" a voice suddenly whispered despairingly.

Iruka suddenly jerked up, surprised to hear his mother talk.

"M-mom?" He asked, looking at her face.

"I-Ir…" she began again, looking intently into her son's eyes.

"Mom! Save your strength! I'm going to get you out of here and bring you to a medic-nin, OK! So just save your strength!"

Iruka was surprised when his mother lifted her right hand towards him.

"I…ru…chan…" she whispered so very softly to her son, a smile on her face. Her breathing had become very ragged and he knew she would not last for very long. And so with her final breath, she lightly brushed the cheek of her only son before her hand finally dropped to the ground; the rest of her body very still.

"M-mom? Mom! Mom!" Iruka shook her, trying to get her to open her eyes again, but no matter how many times he did it, she would not budge. Fresh tears began to flow down his cheeks. He called for his mother one last time. When she did not respond, Iruka's sadness began to overwhelm him and cried out in anguish, screaming into the night.

"I failed…" Iruka began. "I failed… I couldn't keep my promise… I couldn't protect you like dad told me to…" he whispered to the fallen woman beside him. "I let that demon get you…damnit… I let it take you away from me and dad…"

Iruka got up off of the floor and slowly walked outside of the broken building. Looking up, he saw the fox with its back turned towards him. Iruka began to feel the rage building up inside of him.

"YOU DAMNED FOX-DEMON!" Iruka screamed at the fox. It looked like Iruka managed to catch its attention as it slowly turned around towards him.

"You killed my mother… you took her away from me… I'm going to kill you… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he yelled at the fox. Iruka wanted revenge; and he didn't care whether or not he was going to die in the process.

The demon stared at the little boy. To Iruka, it looked like the fox was giving him a smile, as if it was mocking him. It _wanted_ Iruka to try and kill him, he thought.

"Well, then that's what he's going to get!" Iruka exclaimed. Picking up a fallen kunai from the ground, probably from the fight between his mother and the demon, Iruka rushed towards the demon.

The fox was ready for him though as it raised its front claws and struck down on Iruka. He was hit and was thrown backwards, but when he hit the ground, a large puff of smoke appeared. Lying there on the ground, where Iruka was supposed to be, was a log. Iruka had used Kawarimi no Jutsu at the last moment.

"UP HERE YOU STUPID FOX!" Iruka screamed in mid-air as he threw the kunai at the fox-demon.

The nine-tailed demon seemed to react faster than Iruka had thought as it immediately raised its head and blew a spiral of wind from its mouth. Iruka was surprised when the weapon stopped and suddenly changed its direction towards him. With no way of escaping while in mid-air, Iruka could only close his eyes and cross his arms, prepared to receive the blow that was coming. He was shocked, however, when he did not feel any pain. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a man's chest in front of him. As he looked up, Iruka found himself face-to-face with his father.

"D-dad?" Iruka asked in disbelief as they landed on the ground.

His father fell on his knees, face contorting in pain before he coughed up some blood.

"Dad!" the boy exclaimed.

The man looked up towards his son and smiled at him. "Are you alright, Iruka?" he asked.

"Y-yeah…" Iruka replied. "B-but, mom…she—"

"It's alright, Iruka… I know you tried your best…"

"But I—"

Iruka did not get a chance to explain as he was suddenly pushed away from his father. Time seemed to slow down for him, as he saw the claws of the demon slash horizontally, hitting his father head on. He watched with eyes wide open as his father was thrown to the side, his body spinning in the air before finally hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Iruka was not able to escape unscathed from the attack either. The force of the blow was so powerful that the gust of wind that followed the swift attack was strong enough to cut some of his hair off and scratch him across the face. Iruka fell to the ground, screaming in pain as he held the cut along the top of his nose.

Suddenly remembering that his father was hurt, Iruka felt the pain lessen a bit. He stood back up and quickly ran towards his father. When he reached him, Iruka gasped at what he saw. His father was laying on the ground with deep gashes on his back, and an arm and a leg that was bent the wrong way. The tears came back as he shook his head as if he was denying that this had just happened. He fell down on his knees next to his beaten father. He called out his name and tried to shake him, but unlike his mother, his father would not move, nor say his name. His father was dead.

Looking up, Iruka saw the fox-demon staring at the two of them on the ground. The demon looked like it was smiling as if satisfied with its work. Iruka's anger came back. But as he was just about to get up to get ready for another offensive attack, a gigantic frog had slammed into the nine-tailed fox, making it fall on the ground.

"Oi, Kid! What the hell are you doing here!" a man's voice exclaimed.

Iruka squinted his eyes a bit to find a blonde-haired man standing on top of the frog's head. It was the Fourth Hokage.

"You shouldn't be here! It's too dangerous!" the Yondaime exclaimed. "Now hurry up and get out of here! Run!"

Iruka didn't move. He wanted to stay and fight. He wanted revenge for the deaths of his parents. He wanted to kill the beast.

When the Yondaime saw that the boy was not going to run away, he had to take matters into his own hands.

"Gamabunta, I need you to stall the Kyuubi for just a bit. I have to go get that kid down there to safety," the Fourth told his partner as he jumped off of his head.

"Alright…but hurry up! I'm not taking care of this myself," Gamabunta told the Yondaime. The Fourth gave a chuckle when he heard the large toad mumble something about "stupid kids" and "heroics."

When the Fourth touched the ground, he immediately grabbed hold of Iruka and ran towards the gates.

"You'll be safe with the others at the gates. Just in case that we fail here, everyone will already have escaped," the Yondaime explained to Iruka.

The Fourth noticed Iruka trying to break free from his grasp.

"Damnit, kid! Do you really wanna die that much!" he exclaimed.

"I want my parents back!" Iruka suddenly yelled.

"I-I see…" the Fourth said, slightly taken aback by his statement. "Those must've been your parents then… "

"That thing took them away…mom…dad…They tried to protect me...and I couldn't do anything…" Iruka whispered.

"Then let me ask you something, kid…Do you really think your parents would've wanted you to die after they sacrificed their lives to _save_ you?" the Yondaime asked Iruka.

The boy remained silent, but stopped his struggle.

"That's better…" the blonde-haired man said.

When they reached the gates, the Yondaime set Iruka down and asked one of the villagers to watch him. Then he turned towards Iruka.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll take care of things from here on in. That thing isn't going to cause anymore trouble after tonight, I promise you that…" he reassured Iruka.

Iruka looked down, not meeting the Fourth's eyes.

"Alright…I'm off!" the blond said as he took off towards the battle.

Iruka stayed where he stood, staring at the ground, for a couple of minutes before one of the villagers finally came up to him.

"Hey…don't worry, kid. The Yondaime always keeps his word. That demon won't last for very long… He wasn't named Hokage for nothing, you know." the man told Iruka, ruffling his hair.

"It's not that…" Iruka whispered, shaking his head. "It was my fault…all my fault…"

"Kid…"

"Damnit… mom…dad… I couldn't protect them… I couldn't keep my promise… I just wasn't strong enough...I WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH!" Iruka roared to the night sky. "I wasn't…strong enough…" he whispered softly as he fell on his knees, tears in his eyes.

Iruka punched the ground in anger. "Damn you, fox…" He punched the ground again. "You took them away from me…" another punch. "You took away my family…" he gave another. "I'll kill you… I'll definitely kill you…" he seethed as he punched the ground one last time in anger.

The man watched sadly as Iruka vented out his anger and sadness on the ground.

"Kid…I-I don't know what to say…" he said softly.

Iruka got off of the ground and began walking towards the battlefield.

"Hey kid… where do you think you're going?" the man asked, suddenly grabbing Iruka by the collar of his shirt.

"Let me go, old man! I'm gonna go kill that thing myself! I don't care what the Yondaime says! I should be the one to kill that thing!" Iruka exclaimed, struggling to get free from the villager's grasp.

"Are you crazy! You think you're going to survive fighting that thing!" the man exclaimed, making Iruka face him.

"I don't care!" Iruka yelled at him. "Just as long as I kill that beast!" he pushed himself away from the villager's grasp.

"Do you really think your parents would want you to do that?" the man asked calmly.

Iruka's eyes widened as the question reminded him of the one the Fourth had asked earlier.

"I know you must be hurting kid… but this no way to honor your parents' memories by going in there and getting yourself killed…"

Iruka didn't want to listen to the man's words. He didn't want to listen to what the Hokage told him. But in the end, his resolve broke and Iruka silently walked back towards the others.

"Just be—" the man tried to say, but was suddenly interrupted by a pillar of absolute darkness suddenly rising to the night sky. It was resonating from the area the demon and the Yondaime were fighting.

Everyone watched in awe as the darkness filled the night sky and then gradually thinned and finally disappeared… and then finally, there was only silence.

"I-is it over?" one of the villagers suddenly asked.

"I-I think so… I don't see anything anymore…not even the demon" another replied.

The crowd suddenly cheered. The horror was finally over. Iruka, however, did not stay for their little celebration. Instead, he started running towards the area where the pillar had come from. As he neared his destination, Iruka was able to find a kunai lying on the ground. Picking it up, the boy continued on, determined to fight if he had to.

Once he arrived, however, Iruka was surprised to find nothing there except a couple of shinobi looking depressed and the Third Hokage standing with them while holding what looked like a baby. As the young genin looked around, he was able to overhear part of a conversation between two anbu.

"Looks like it's finally over…" one of the anbu said.

"Yeah… but at the cost of the Yondaime's life…" the other replied sadly.

Iruka's eyes widened at this news. He started walking away from them, and turned towards where the Sandaime was. He was also talking to a shinobi.

"…over, but the Yondaime sacrificed his life in order to save this village." the old man began. "No one must know what has transpired here today, at least not yet. The village is not yet ready to find out the truth."

"But why?" the jounin asked.

"Because they will not take kindly to the fact that the demon is indeed still alive…" the Third said.

The jounin was surprised at this news, as was Iruka.

"Alive? But didn't the Fourth destroy that demon!" the jounin asked.

"No… we could not destroy something as powerful as a greater demon, like the Kyuubi… We could only seal it inside a vessel. That's why this baby is here. He was the sacrifice we needed to seal the Kyuubi in."

"Then…"

"No… this baby is innocent. He is not the Kyuubi. This baby is our savior. We would not have been able to defeat the demon without him," the Sandaime explained.

"Why!" Iruka suddenly yells out. "Why are you letting that thing live! That demon may be sealed, but it's still alive!"

"The Kyuubi is alive, yes, but it can do no more harm inside this boy's body."

"I refuse to believe it! The Yondaime promised me that he would get rid of that demon! He promised me!" Iruka yelled at the Third.

"And he fulfilled that promise. The demon is gone… alive, but gone," the old man said calmly.

Iruka growled and took out his kunai while he rushed towards the Sandaime. He lifted up his weapon, ready to attack the baby the Third was holding.

"Can you really kill such an innocent child?" the Third suddenly asked.

Iruka managed to look at the baby's face as he struck the kunai down on him, but instead of seeing the face of a child, he saw his mother's instead.

Iruka stopped his attack just as it was about to make contact.

"Damnit…" Iruka whispered. The hand that was holding the weapon shook. Drawing his hand back, Iruka fell to the ground. A voice that sounded a lot like his mother's suddenly flooded his ears.

"No matter what…it's just an innocent child…" it had said.

Iruka could only stare at the ground.

The Hokage handed the little boy over to a fellow shinobi. He then kneeled down to face Iruka.

As if reading Iruka's thoughts, the Yondaime said, "Your anger is justifiable, but you mustn't forget that a child is still just a child."

"But that demon killed my parents," Iruka said softly.

"The Kyuubi didn't kill your parents…" the old man started.

Iruka stared at him.

"Your parents may have sacrificed their lives to protect their only son. They may even have sacrificed their lives to protect this village, but their memories still live within you… in here," the Sandaime said softly, patting Iruka's chest. "Your parents were heroes. You should remember them as that."

Iruka remained silent.

The Third helped Iruka to his feet. He then turned to the shinobi next to him and took the baby from his arms.

"In a couple of days, I will announce the truth... but until then, the people should return to their normal lives and rebuild. Many have died today, but we _will_ honor them. We shall hold a memorial for all those who died trying to protect this village and its people," the Yandaime told the shinobi around him.

"What about the baby?" Iruka suddenly asked, head still bowed.

"The baby will be considered a hero, but… unfortunately, he will have to bear the burden of carrying the demon inside of him for the rest of his life," the Third finished sadly.

"I-I see…" Iruka whispered.

"We should all head back now and tell the villagers that it is now safe. It is time to rebuild the village of Konoha…" the Sandaime said aloud so that everyone could here.

Everyone nodded their heads and left the area.

"Iruka-san?" the old man asked.

The boy turned to look at him.

"You should know... that your parents are watching you right now… up there," the Sandaime began, gesturing at the stars above them. "And right now, I think they'd be very proud of you…" he smiled before walking away.

Iruka stared at the old man as he slowly disappeared from view. He then looked up into the night sky, watching as a shooting star flew across.

"Mom…dad…" Iruka whispered to the open sky before finally walking away.

A/N: Wow… that was actually a pretty long chapter…

I have to say that this chapter was actually pretty hard to write for some reason. I had to rewrite it twice before I was finally satisfied with the outcome, though not totally… But I managed to get it done, though it took over a week for me to do it. Eh, what can you do?

Iruka was very emotional and very confused in this chapter. Well, I hope I did a good job portraying it at least. I think that's why this was one of the hardest chapters for me to write. His mood had to keep changing from sad to angry to confused to sad, etc. etc. It made my head spin.

You may be wondering how the Sandaime knows Iruka's name, but the Yondaime doesn't... Well, keep in mind that the Sandaime has been the Hokage for many years, more than the Yondaime has. Also, I always thought that he was the type of person who would actually try to learn the names of everyone in the village. So yeah… that's my explanation however uninteresting it may be.

I may also get a question about this, so I better answer it now. You may have noticed that I didn't mention the names of Iruka's parents. The reason? Because I want to try and keep it canon as much as I can. The manga or the anime never mentioned their names, so I won't either.

Well anyway, next chapter will be another Iruka flashback, though a couple more years later.

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! 'Till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	5. Just a Child

**Chapter 5:**

**Just a Child**

The first signs of morning came when the sunlight began to rise above the horizon. But as many people were still groggily trying to get up from their beds, one individual was already up and awake. The young man was currently staring at a large piece of stone with many names carved into it. There were two names in particular that the individual could not keep his eyes off of. They were those of his parents. They had died during the battle with the nine-tailed demon fox, Kyuubi. He was there that fateful night and watched in horror as his parents were murdered right in front of him. Even though the Third had told him it wasn't his fault, he still felt a sense of guilt; and so, everyday, the young man would come to pay respects and apologize to his parents at the memorial.

As the young man continued to reflect upon the past, footsteps began to slowly creep up behind him.

"Oi! Iruka!" the voice suddenly called out.

Iruka tensed up and suddenly turned around with a kunai in his hand, ready to strike the enemy that drew near.

"Wha—? I surrender! I surrender!" the young shinobi smiled as he jokingly raised his hands to signify his defeat.

"Ah! Sorry about that, Mizuki…" Iruka apologized. "It was reflex."

"Eh, no worries," Mizuki replied, dropping his arms down and walking closer to where Iruka was standing. "I see you're up pretty early today," he said as he looked at the stone in front of him.

"Yeah… I wanted to come up here and do some reflecting," Iruka responded.

"Hmm…" Mizuki nodded as he walked towards the memorial grave. "You know, I feel sorry for these people," he suddenly said.

"Eh? What makes you say that?" Iruka asked.

"Well, it's just that these people will never get a chance to see the changes that the village has gone through. They'll never even get to see their children grow up. It's sad when you think about it."

Iruka tensed. What Mizuki had said hit home.

"'These people died with honor. They sacrificed their lives to protect their comrades, and they sacrificed their lives to protect this village.' That's what the Third said during one of his lectures. But you know, sometimes I ask myself, 'Why did these people have to sacrifice their lives in order to protect everyone? Why couldn't they cherish their own lives and forget about the others? Why not just grow stronger until they were strong enough to overcome the enemy? Then they wouldn't have _needed_ to sacrifice their lives.' To become a ninja you must be strong. And in order to stay alive as a ninja, you need to grow stronger." Mizuki gave a light chuckle before continuing, "If I was as strong as that demon fox then I wouldn't have to ever worry about sacrificing my own life. I would just blow away my enemies with one blow!" Mizuki finished, a smile on his face.

Iruka grunted. "I'm sure that kid would have nothing to worry about then…" he whispered to himself.

"Well anyway, I should tell you the reason why I'm here," Mizuki began, turning around to face Iruka. "The Sandaime wants to see you. It seems he has a mission for you."

"Eh? A mission?" Iruka asked, curious.

"Yeah. Sounded pretty important, too."

"Hmn. Then I better go and report in."

"Alright then. Good luck. I'll be going ahead of you," Mizuki replied before jumping up and disappearing through the trees.

Iruka gave one last look at the memorial and then proceeded to head towards the Hokage's office. Once he arrived a few of minutes later, Iruka signaled his presence by knocking on the office doors.

"Come in," a voice said.

"You asked for me, sir?" Iruka asked as he walked in.

"Ah! Iruka-san. Yes, yes… I did indeed call for you. There's something that I need you to do for me," the old man replied as he turned away from the window.

"A mission, sir?"

"Mission?" the Third gave a light chuckle. "I wouldn't really consider it a mission, but rather an errand."

"An errand?" Iruka asked, curious as to what the Sandaime had to say.

"Yes, normally I would do this myself, but as you can see, my hands are pretty much full," the Third replied, gesturing at the large stacks of paper on his desk.

"I understand," Iruka nodded. "What is it that you need me to do?"

"Do you see that sack in the corner over there?" the old man asked, pointing at a large sack in the corner of the room.

"Yes."

"Inside that sack is some food. I need you to deliver it for me."

"Deliver it where?"

"Actually it's not very far. It's inside the village. But to whom you will be delivering it to? You will be delivering it to a young boy."

"A young boy?" Iruka asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yes. The boy lives by himself since he does not have any parents."

"He's like me then," Iruka whispered to himself. "Then of course I will accept, sir!" Iruka said aloud.

"Good to hear it!" the Sandaime replied with a smile. He went towards the table and picked up a folder. "Here is his profile. In it is the address in which you will be delivering the food to," the old man said as he gave the folder to Iruka.

Iruka proceeded to look through the folder. His eyes suddenly widened, however, when he saw the name and picture that was printed at the top of the page. He immediately closed the folder shut.

"U-Uzumaki…Naruto...!" Iruka said to himself. "I have to deliver the food to this kid!"

"Hmm?" The Third noticed the expression on Iruka's face. "I see… so you remember him then?"

"How could I not!" Iruka replied with a growl. "He's the reason why my parents are dead!" Iruka exclaimed.

"Oh? Is he now?" the old man asked quietly.

"He killed them!"

"A little child did that?"

"He…he…the demon…" Iruka tried to explain but to no avail. He gave a loud growl of frustration.

"A child is still just a child, Iruka-san."

"But, _he's_ not an ordinary child."

"Are you sure about that? He may carry a burden inside him, but if you take a closer look at him, you will see what I mean."

"I don't care, I still won't accept him. I'm sorry Sandaime, but it seems that I will not be able to accept this errand after all," Iruka finished, bowing to the Sandaime before quickly leaving through the office doors.

On the other side of the office, however, a grin had appeared on the old man's face.

Iruka walked around the village for a little while after his encounter with the Third. Talking with him had brought up some horrible memories that he wished he could forget. He remembered the look on his mother's face as she was struck by the fox demon. He remembered what had happened to his father. He remembered all the bodies that were lying on the ground. It was a massacre. And it was all because of that little boy—the demon that almost destroyed the whole village of Konoha.

Iruka continued to walk around, trying to clear his head of the tragic memories. He suddenly halted, however, when he noticed a commotion in one of the shops.

"I will not serve anything to the likes of you! Get out! Out, I say!" a voice shouted.

A child was then roughly pushed outside where he fell on the ground. The child looked down dejectedly.

Iruka, seeing everything that unfolded, was about to go inside the store to tell the owner off when he saw exactly who the child was. Iruka's eyes widened.

"T-that's him! Uzumaki, Naruto!" he said to himself. Iruka's anger began to rise. This was the boy that caused him all of his anguish. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, however, when the boy suddenly began to talk.

"Argh! I hate this! All I want is some food, damnit!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Food?" Iruka asked himself. "Oh, that's right. I didn't accept the Sandaime's errand. I guess no one else has delivered the food yet."

After that incident, Iruka couldn't help but follow Naruto. He was genuinely curious as to what the child was going to do next. But somewhere in the back of his mind, Iruka was slightly concerned with the little kid. It was partly his fault that Naruto was out here in the first place, after all. Iruka followed Naruto as the child continued to walk down the road. As he followed the little child around, Iruka saw the many glares that Naruto was getting.

Iruka felt his chest tighten for some reason.

He noticed that Naruto was looking down and wasn't really paying attention to where he was going or his surroundings.

"He probably doesn't know the amount of glares he's receiving," Iruka told himself.

Iruka's thought was interrupted when he saw Naruto fall to the ground, a large kid in front of him.

"Ouch! Hey kid, you hit me!" the pudgy kid exclaimed, glaring at Naruto.

"I did not! 'Sides you were in the way, what with that big body of yours!" Naruto retorted back as he got up off the floor.

The group of kids seemed to respond to his statement as they got ready to pounce on him, but the large child stopped them.

"Wait!" the group's leader exclaimed. "You've got guts, you know that kid? Insulting me like that," the pudgy boy told Naruto.

"Damn! This doesn't look good," Iruka told himself. He watched as the boy walked around Naruto.

"What's this? A bag? Hey, hey… what's in this thing?" the boy asked Naruto.

"It's nothing!" Naruto replied as he tried to hide the small bag behind his back.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me."

"It's just something that I carry around with me."

The pudgy boy grinned. "Must be something pretty important then. Tell ya what? How 'bout giving me that bag as payment for hitting me?" he asked.

"To someone as fat as you? I don't think so. 'Sides I didn't hit you. You bumped into me," Naruto replied.

"You're getting on my nerves kid."

"Kid? And what does that make you? You can't even reach the damn table with you're height yo—"

Naruto was interrupted when one of the kids from the group caught him by surprise and tackled him to the ground. Iruka was about to go and help Naruto when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to stop what he was about to do. Turning around, he saw the Third Hokage standing above him. The old man shook his head. Iruka had no choice but to continue to watch the scene unfold.

He watched as Naruto was punched in the stomach while another kid from the group grabbed his bag.

"Let's get out of here, before any of the adults see us!" one of the kids shouted.

The pudgy kid stood up, and then looked down on Naruto.

"Psh. You're not worth it," he told Naruto as he ran away with his group.

Naruto stayed sprawled on the ground as he watched the kids disappear down the road.

"Why did you stop me? I could have stopped them," Iruka asked irritated

The old man gave a small chuckle. "Iruka-san, have you not noticed yet?"

Iruka was beginning to get even more agitated. "Notice what?"

"Stop and listen to yourself for a moment," the Sandaime told him, a grin on his face. "Why is it that you want to stop those children from hurting him?"

"Eh? Because he's just… a…" Iruka caught himself. His eyes suddenly widened.

The old man's smile grew.

"…child…" Iruka finished softly.

"Hmn… It seems you have realized it without even knowing it." The Sandaime gave another chuckle.

A moment of silence passed before Iruka finally spoke.

"I-I always thought that Naruto would be much more…nastier…" Iruka began.

The old man gave a chuckle at this.

"But after seeing him today…"

"He's not as demonic as you thought he was," the Third finished for him.

"You know, somewhere in my mind, I thought that Naruto would just defeat those kids with ease."

"He is after all the fox demon…"

"N-no… after that… no…"

"Oh?"

"He's just another child…"

"So you've come to accept it then?"

"Y-yes…"

"Let's head back to my office then," the old man said, with a smile on his face.

"Y-yes…" Iruka replied.

The two began to walk towards the Hokage's office.

"Sir?" Iruka suddenly voiced out. "I-is it too late to change my mind and accept that errand?"

"Hmm… well, let's see…" the Sandaime began. "No one has yet to accept the errand, and it seems that my break is over so that means I must get back to work. Hmn. I guess there's no helping it then."

"Then…?"

"Yes, you can pick up the sack when we get back."

"Thank you, sir!"

In the end, Iruka picked up the sack and delivered it to the specific address—that of one Naruto Uzumaki, a child he once thought was nothing but an evil reincarnation of the fox demon. Iruka's mind seemed to have changed after what he had seen that day.

As he was unpacking all the food from the sack, Iruka took a good look around Naruto's room. It was plain with just the bare necessities. It was messy, but with just one kid living in one small apartment, it was to be expected. Iruka thought back of what happened that day, what Naruto had gone through.

"In a way, he reminds me of…me…" Iruka couldn't help but chuckle at that thought.

Once he finished unpacking, he took one last look around the room before heading out. Just a few moments after he had left, a young blond-haired boy opened the door to his apartment to find a surprise waiting for him.

A/N: Wow… a couple of months with no word from me. Sorry about that. I've been away performing and doing college work at the same time, so I haven't had the chance to write these past few months. But now that vacation is here, I'll be on my computer writing. Just so you know, I will not abandon any story whatsoever. Even if it takes me years, I _will_ finish it.

Anyway, time to talk about the current chapter. This was actually shorter compared to the other ones, but it was also one of the harder ones to write. I wanted to show some irony in what Iruka thought and what he says about Naruto. I also wanted to show a growing progression of change in him. I wanted to show it in a way that was subtle, in that he would not notice it until he actually stopped to think about everything. In the end, this is what I came up with. I hope it came out well.

You also saw Mizuki in this chapter. If you noticed from all the things he said, you might have noticed that I tried to explain some of his motives as to why he does what he does later on. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then refer to the first episode or first chapter of Naruto.

By the way, the Third seemed to be more of a grandfather figure in this chapter…a very wise and mysterious one at that. Hmmm… remind you of anyone? Haha, joking aside, it's time to get this ball rolling again. You may have noticed that the timeline in this chapter is the same as that of Chapter 2, where Naruto first meets the ramen stand owner. This was actually not my first choice. I actually had to rewrite the previous one into the present one. I felt the other one did not flow like I wanted it to. So this is the end product.

Now that the chapter's over, this marks the end of Iruka's flashbacks. It's now time to head back to the present where new characters await. And for some people, it may just be the start of something that you've been waiting for. Oh, and you'll also find out what happened to those kids that robbed Naruto. Thanks for being patient guys! I do hope that you continue reading. 'Till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	6. A Matter of the Heart

**Chapter 6:**

**A Matter of the Heart**

"And that's what happened," Iruka let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun…"

Naruto, with tears in his eyes, got up from his seat, went over to Iruka, and suddenly hugged him, not caring that Ayame and the old man were watching.

"Wha—"

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei… for believing in me…" Naruto whispered in between sniffles.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Ah, the powerful bond between teacher and student! It's such a wonderful sight! Yes, such a sad and touching story should never be held back!" a voice suddenly called out from behind the two ninja.

Startled, the two glanced behind them to find a sniffling and teary-eyed Lee staring at both of them.

"Th-thickbrows…" Naruto stuttered out.

Seeing Lee in front of him, Naruto was then suddenly aware that there were other pairs of eyes staring at them. Looking around, Naruto saw that Kakashi and most of the Rookie 9 had been standing behind them and listening in the whole time without their noticing it. Naruto suddenly felt embarrassed. Beside him, Naruto noticed that Iruka, too, felt the same way.

"W-when did you get here?" Iruka asked, slightly embarrassed that everyone saw the whole ordeal.

"Just a while ago…You were so into the story that you just didn't notice us," Kakashi answered for everyone.

"So, tell us, Iruka-sensei! What happened to the boys that bullied Naruto?" Ino suddenly cut in.

Everyone nodded. It seemed that they were all eager to hear Iruka's answer.

"E-eh?" Iruka was surprised at the sudden question. "W-well, I heard that those boys were summoned by the Third. I was delivering the food to Naruto's place at that time so I don't know everything. But from the evil grin I saw on Hokage-sama when I came to report in after the delivery, I think they were given a punishment that must have been…torturous…"

Kiba grinned. "They were probably taken to a room where they were all spanked in the a—"

"Right! Anyway!" Naruto suddenly interrupted. "That's all well and good, but I still want to know what you guys are doing here."

"Well, it wouldn't be a celebration without us, now would it?" Kiba asked, grinning.

"C-celebration?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Don't tell me you already forgot?" Ino exclaimed. "Your promotion to becoming a chuunin? Don't you remember?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not actually one yet until tomorrow when they officially announce it…"

"So? Who says we can't celebrate your promotion the day before?" Kiba asked.

"S-so you guys actually want to come and join me?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Well, why else would we be here?" Ino asked.

"To eat?" Chouji tried to answer. But his response only earned him a glare from Ino.

Naruto suddenly felt a bit teary-eyed.

"Was this why Naruto was depressed earlier? Because nobody had yet to congratulate him on his promotion?" Ayame asked herself.

"Ah, looks like I have a confession to make. Sorry Naruto-kun, I didn't expect them to come this early...This was the reason why I was so late in joining you today," Iruka explained to the blonde. "I was trying to gather everyone so they could come and celebrate with us…since we all wanted to tell you in person…Congratulations, Naruto-kun, on your promotion," Iruka finished with a smile.

"T-thanks a lot everyone…" said Naruto, wiping away a stray tear that had rolled down his cheek.

Everyone smiled.

Seeing everyone's smiling faces made Naruto even happier. But there was still something missing, he had thought to himself.

"I-is Sakura-chan coming?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"Um… about that Naruto-kun… She's wi—" Iruka tried to explain but was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream outside of the ramen stand.

Without hesitation, everyone quickly ran outside to see what had happened, but all they found were two girls enthusiastically talking about something. They did not seem to notice the group of shinobi that they had attracted due to their very lively talk.

"Ah, no way! You're kidding?" a brunette exclaimed.

"Nope, I'm not!" another girl replied; this time a blonde.

"Hmn… false alarm," Neji told the others.

"Girls… How troublesome…" Shikamaru whispered to himself as he shook his head.

"What was that, Shikamaru?" Ino asked the black-haired ninja with a menacing smile.

"A-ah… nothing…" Shikamaru quickly replied.

"That's what I thought," said Ino, quickly walking past the poor young man.

Kakashi and the others followed the blonde kunoichi back into the ramen stand. Naruto was about to enter back into the stand when something made him stop in his tracks.

"Oh, by the way, did you hear about Sasuke-kun?" the blond girl suddenly asked.

Naruto's ears suddenly perked up at the mention of the name.

"Yeah… poor Sasuke-kun. He must be hurting with that broken arm and leg. I heard he got those injuries from saving one of his teammates," the other replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah… Hey, do you think we should go and bring him something? Like flowers?"

"Nn…" the blonde-haired girl nodded. "We should definitely do that. Maybe he'll even reward us with a kiss."

The girls giggled at the thought.

Naruto, suddenly feeling sick from the conversation and not wanting to hear any more of it, quickly entered Ichiraku.

Everyone seemed to notice Naruto's expression.

"Oi, Naruto! You alright, there?" Kiba voiced out the group's thoughts.

Naruto ignored the question and just sat back down on his seat. Something seemed to be on his mind.

"I-I see…" Naruto whispered to himself. "Sakura-chan's still in the hospital with Sasuke, right?" Naruto asked Iruka quietly. "That's why she won't be able to come, right?"

"N-nn… That's right…" Iruka nodded. Noticing Naruto's sudden quietness, Iruka quickly added, "But don't forget, Naruto-kun, Sakura-kun _is_ a medic-nin and she's obligat—"

"How _is_ Sasuke?" Naruto suddenly interrupted.

"He's doing well," Kakashi cut in. "From what I last heard, he'll make a full recovery from his injuries and will be out of the hospital in a week."

"I see…That's good then," Naruto quietly replied.

Ayame noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. Silence had suddenly reigned down upon the small ramen stand. Everyone else also noticed the change. It only lasted for a few seconds, however, for Kiba had quickly grown impatient. He could not stand the depressing atmosphere anymore. Knowing he had to do something, the black-haired shinobi walked towards Naruto and then suddenly slapped him in the back.

"Yo, Naruto! Are you just gonna sit there while everyone else starves to death or are you going to feed us?"

Kiba's action seemed to do the trick.

"Yeah, Naruto! We're all hungry!" Ino exclaimed. "And Chouji can't keep on eating chips forever you know," said the blonde, pointing to a potato-chip-eating Chouji.

"Actually, I can," retorted the chubby chuunin. His response only earned him another glare from the kunoichi.

"Besides, aren't we supposed to be celebrating?" TenTen added, patting Naruto on the back.

"A-ah…Yeah…you're right. Sorry, I was just lost in thought," Naruto apologized.

With renewed energy, Naruto turned to Teuchi with a smile on his face.

"You hear that, old man? My friends here want some food! They're here to celebrate my promotion so I'm definitely not gonna let them down. So you better bring on the good stuff!"

Teuchi laughed at Naruto's renewed energy. "You got it, kid!"

Minutes passed by as everyone sat down and chatted with each other. Loud noises and laughter filled the ramen stand. But as the group of ninjas chatted and joked around, a young waitress was busy trying to piece a puzzle that was in her head. Questions kept running through her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

"Why was Naruto-kun so upset about Sakura-san having to stay with Sasuke-kun? Iruka-san is right. Sakura-san is a medic-nin and she is obligated to treat the injured. So why then? Besides, weren't they all supposed to be good friends?" Ayame asked herself.

Then it suddenly struck her.

"Does Naruto-kun like Sakura-san?" the young waitress suddenly asked.

Ayame jumped when she suddenly heard someone choking. Looking towards the source, her eyes widened at what she saw. Naruto was once again choking on something. TenTen was currently patting his back, trying to make him spit it out but to no avail. Acting quickly, Ayame filled a glass with water and gave it to Naruto which he immediately drank.

"S-sorry about that Ayame-chan. You're question just threw me off guard," Naruto explained, his face a little red.

"Question?" Ayame thought to herself. "Oh no! I must have said it out loud!" she told herself as she put her hands over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun! I didn't realize I had said that out loud! I really didn't mean to upset you! Ooh… and that's the second time I've made you choke on something today, too! I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun, please forgive me!" the young waitress cried out hysterically, her face showing that she was nearly in tears.

"A-ah… D-don't worry about it Ayame-chan…" Naruto quickly replied, hoping against all hope that there would not be a crying girl in front of him. He wouldn't know what to do if she did. "No harm done… See!" the blond proceeded to pound on his chest to try and emphasize his point, but all it did was just make him cough even more.

Watching Naruto's coughing fit, Ayame's lips suddenly began to twitch. And before long, she could not hold in the laughter that was bursting inside her, and suddenly started laughing. The others, it seemed, could not hold their laughter in anymore as well and joined in. Even Naruto joined in after he stopped coughing.

After the laughter finally died down a few moments later, Shikamaru, remembering the question that had started all of the commotion, decided to answer it.

"You're right, you know. Naruto has always liked Sakura," the black-haired jounin suddenly spoke out with a nonchalant tone.

"Eh? I have not!" Naruto vehemently denied the accusation, but the redness on his face said otherwise.

"You think we haven't noticed after all these years? It's kind of hard _not_ to notice it when you publicly humiliate yourself in front of her. Not to mention your loud ramblings about Sasuke and Sakura in which at times we're on the receiving end of," Shikamaru explained to Naruto. "So troublesome…" the jounin sighed.

Naruto did not answer. Instead, he just lowered his head down making his hair cover part of his face. To everyone, it looked like he was just hiding the blush that was forming. His lack of a response only seemed to confirm Shikamaru's statement even more.

"S-so Naruto-kun does like Sakura-san after all…" a quiet little voice suddenly spoke out.

"Shit!" Shikamaru immediately reprimanded himself. "I totally forgot that Hinata was here, too…Ah, this is definitely a troublesome situation to be in," thought the young jounin as he placed his hand on his forehead.

It was suddenly getting a little too hot in the ramen stand as Shikamaru could feel the burning glares that the others were giving him.

Hinata seemed to notice Shikamaru's unusual behavior. Figuring out what was probably troubling the young ninja, Hinata suddenly spoke out.

"I-it's alright, Shikamaru-kun… I-I'll be fine…" Hinata told him, a smile on her face.

Shikamaru noticed that the smile on Hinata's face was forced.

"There's no mistaking it now… I'm dead…" thought the young jounin.

Shikamaru felt the room grow hotter.

Naruto did not notice the whole affair, however. He was too busy drowning in his own thoughts. What Shikamaru said had struck Naruto hard. Every word he had said was true. Ever since he could remember having a crush on Sakura, he had always tried to get her attention. But it would always end the same way. He would either be ignored or denied. He remembered her saying that she wanted a boy like Sasuke, who was much cooler and more mature than he ever was. But Naruto never gave up. He had tried so hard to get her to notice him after that, that in the end, he just wound up embarrassing himself whenever he did. Even then he never gave up. But that soon changed after that one night…It was a memory he just could not forget no matter how hard he tried. And because of that, his heart would break over and over again every single time he thought about it.

Naruto let out a defeated sigh.

"You're right Shikamaru…" Naruto suddenly said, interrupting the glaring contest that everyone seemed to be holding. "It's true that I have always liked Sakura-chan… but…"

Everyone was suddenly looking at him in anticipation, even Hinata.

"But… I've already given up on chasing after that dream…" Naruto finished quietly, his eyes never leaving the empty bowl in front of him.

Nobody could believe what they were hearing. Naruto had actually given up on a dream that he had long been chasing. Hinata, despite having feelings for the blond boy, was just as surprised as everyone else.

"B-but why?" Ino asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Naruto just continued to stare at his empty bowl of ramen.

"Something happened…didn't it?" Neji answered for the young genin.

Everyone looked at Neji with curiosity in their eyes.

"I've never known you to be a quitter, Naruto," he explained. "Do you remember? You showed me that never-ending determination when we fought against each other. So I can only deduce from what I know of you that something happened between you and Sakura-san."

Flashes of that time with Sakura suddenly invaded his thoughts. He suddenly felt his chest tighten.

It seemed he had no choice. There was no escaping it. Making his decision, Naruto reluctantly agreed with a nod of his head.

"Well? Then tell us what happened!" Ino suddenly jumped in.

"Ino-san!" TenTen reprimanded the blonde girl.

"What? I know you want to hear it, too!" Ino replied.

"But—"

"I-it's alright, TenTen," said Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered softly.

Naruto let out a sigh. "There's really no point in me hiding the truth now. One of you will probably push someone else to tell you what happened anyway, so it might as well be me."

Ino blushed in embarrassment at Naruto's comment. He was right. She would've gone straight to Sakura and pushed the girl until she told her what had happened.

Kakashi turned to Teuchi. "It looks like you might need to make another round of ramen for everyone, Teuchi-san…"

A/N: This chapter was…interesting… for me to write. This was the first time I ever wrote something with that many characters in one place. It was as Shikamaru puts it, "troublesome." I had to make sure that their comments, responses, and their emotions matched that of their character in canon. On top of that, I had to see in which parts of the story each character could properly reply in and which parts they simply could not. This is the end result. Hopefully, I did a decent enough job with everything. I know that not everyone in the group got much to say in this chapter. But don't worry though; they'll get their turn eventually.

I know that this chapter was a bit depressing and as you've probably already guessed…so will the next one. I'm probably going to get a question about pairings again after this and next chapter. So…please refer back to the writing above the disclaimer in Chapter 1. Your answer is there.

By the way, if you read closely, you may have noticed Ayame's reference to the very beginning of Chapter 1, when Naruto first walks in.

Well, this officially ends Chapter 6. The next chapter will be another flashback. This time it will be about Naruto and Sakura. I hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter. And before I go, I would like to give a hearty thank you to everyone who has continued to read and follow this story. You're the reason I keep writing. So, thank you! 'Till next time.

This chapter has not been beta-read.


	7. Broken

**Chapter 7:**

**Broken**

The setting sun was slowly beginning to hide behind the horizon as a young man watched, mesmerized by the view. Naruto watched as the rays of the sun reflected off of the water from the small brook. He didn't know how long he had been standing on that bridge staring off into nothingness, but it gave him a piece of calmness he had not had in a long time. The past couple of days had been hell for him. Team Kakashi had just come back from an information gathering mission and narrowly escaped the grasp of Akatsuki. Sai had been badly hurt as a result of the struggle. As for Naruto himself, he had fallen unconscious during the mission. He learned later, after waking up in the hospital, that he had indeed transformed again and had gone on a rampage. But apparently it was because of him that they had managed to escape at all.

Naruto cursed under his breath as he gave a menacing scowl at the setting sun. It was hard living with a demon inside of him. And with Akatsuki right on his tail, it just made his life even more difficult. His transformations didn't help either. Every time he woke up, not being able to remember anything, always gave him a sense of dread; the fear that every single transformation he underwent, he had hurt someone precious to him. He had already hurt Sakura once before and he did not want something like that to ever happen again. Just the thought of her getting hurt by his own hands tugged at his heartstrings. He could just imagine the anguish in her voice as she called out his name.

"Naruto…"

Her voice sent a shiver down his spine. It sounded as if she were really there.

"Naruto! Hey…"

Naruto suddenly felt a hand softly touch his shoulder, breaking him out of his stupor and surprising him. Turning towards the source, he found himself face to face with the girl he had been thinking about.

"Hey Naruto… Are you alright?" Sakura asked the dazed blond, concern etched in her voice.

"A-ah, yeah... Sorry about that Sakura-chan," Naruto quickly recovered. "I was just deep in thought."

"Hmmm… I see…" She replied softly. Sakura walked to the railing of the bridge and leaned on it as she looked at the view.

"It's pretty nice out here…" Sakura said aloud.

"Yeah…" Naruto replied. "So I guess you're done at the hospital?"

"Yeah, it's tired me out though."

"So how's Sai doing?"

"Oh, he's doing pretty well. He'll be making a full recovery and should be dismissed from the hospital tomorrow," Sakura replied.

"Ah, that's good to hear."

"So what about you?" the kunoichi asked, turning towards the blond. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Oh, just about life and where we are now," replied the genin, a smile on his face.

"Ooo, I never thought Naruto would ever be the type to think things over… or even think at all," Sakura said jokingly, a grin on her face.

"H-hey, I do think! S-sometimes…" Naruto retorted back.

Sakura gave a light chuckle at the blonde's antics.

"You haven't changed a bit, Naruto."

"I've become taller than you haven't I?" asked Naruto, a foxy grin on his face.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his question. "I guess you're right with that. That's probably the only thing that's changed. I know your maturity hasn't."

"Hey!"

"In a way, I kind of envy you, Naruto," Sakura began. "Even with everything that's been happening, you still manage to smile and act as if nothing's wrong…Oh, I wish we were kids again! Back then all we really had to worry about were exams and getting the attention of the person you liked," Sakura gave a light chuckle as a memory entered her mind. "I seem to remember a young blond trying desperately to catch my attention, but in the end caught the lips of my Sasuke-kun instead."

Naruto cringed at the memory.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"You must have really liked me a lot back then huh? To go through all of those embarrassing moments and still live with yourself?" She asked jokingly.

Naruto remained quiet. For the blond, the question had hit home.

"Naruto?"

"…Yeah… I did…" the blond said softly, turning his head towards the horizon. "…E-even now… I still like Sakura-chan."

"E-eh?" Sakura cried out. She was surprised to hear such a revelation coming out from the blond. Sure, she knew his feelings for her when they were kids, but she never would have thought that he would still like her even after all of these years.

"It's hard to believe isn't it? Me liking you after all of these years…" said Naruto, sounding as if he had read her mind. "But it's true… I still do like Sakura-chan."

Naruto's answer seemed to have rendered Sakura speechless. A moment of silence passed before Sakura had the courage to throw a question in the air.

"What is it you like about me anyway?"

The genin was surprised by the sudden question. He thought about it, but could not find a proper answer.

"I…I'm… not so sure myself," began Naruto. "It's just… there's just something about you that I just can't help _but_ like," the blond finished as he turned to face Sakura, a soft smile painted on his face.

"I-I see…" Sakura replied, suddenly turning away from him. She couldn't look at him for some reason and she didn't know why.

Silence reigned over the two once again. Even though the blond knew his feelings for her, he still did not know where he stood with her. When they were kids, it was all about Sasuke, but what about now, Naruto thought. Had she changed her mind about the raven-haired boy? Naruto had to be sure.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered softly, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Eh?"

"I'm sure Sakura-chan still likes Sasuke, right?" the blond asked.

Naruto's question seemed to spark something in Sakura's mind as memories began flooding her. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't help but smile at some of the images of her and Sasuke.

The blond saw the smile that started to spread along Sakura's face.

He had found his answer.

Naruto suddenly felt a small tug on his chest. The genin hung his head down, his hair hiding his eyes.

"I-I see…"

Naruto's voice seemed to bring the kunoichi back to the present as she turned to face the blond. Seeing the young man's head lowered, she immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"N-Naruto?"

Thinking about everything that had happened since the past, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his conclusion.

"N-Naruto? What's so funny?" the kunoichi asked the blond, confused by his sudden laughter.

"…I guess I never had a chance huh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered softly, his head still lowered. The young genin felt his chest tightening up even more. It was starting to hurt him.

"Naruto, what are you talking about?"

Images rushed inside Naruto's head. These images were of the many different times he had tried to catch the attention of one pink-haired girl, but was always laughed at, rejected, or taunted at. Each image was always hurtful and neither of them had anything that pointed towards his direction.

"Hey Sakura-chan…? Should I just give up…?"

"Eh? Give up what? Naruto, you aren't making any sense…"

The images were still flowing through the blond, reminding him of every single failure when it came to the girl he liked so much. The images were only hurting him more and more to the point where he could not take it anymore. Naruto had reached his limit.

"I'm asking if I should just give up chasing after you!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, finally turning to look at the pink-haired girl.

Sakura took a step back from the young blond, surprised at his sudden outburst.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura asked, confusion coming out of her voice.

Naruto didn't want to give up, however. He wanted to be sure that he still had a fighting chance, no matter how slim it was.

"I need to know, Sakura-chan! Is there any chance of you ever liking someone like me or should I just give it up?" Naruto asked despairingly.

"W-why are you asking me a question like this?" Sakura asked, slightly afraid of Naruto's sudden aggressiveness.

Her lack of a response was starting to get to the young blond. He could not keep this up forever. All those images inside his head had taken its toll on him. He felt like he had been running nonstop for so long and wanted a long rest from it all.

"Because, I'm beginning to feel a bit tired, chasing after something…I can never truly have…" Naruto finished softly.

Sakura's eyes widened at Naruto's revelation.

"So, please…I need to know… Is there even the slightest chance that you could have feelings for someone like me…?"

Sakura could not utter a word.

"Sakura-chan…please…"

Naruto's words were beginning to sound desperate as if his entire world could come crashing down at any second, but Sakura could not form a single word no matter how hard she tried. Her voice just didn't seem to work properly.

Sakura's silence sealed the deal for Naruto. His chest had become so tight, he felt like he was going to suffocate. In that single moment, he felt like all of his life was drained from him.

"I...see…" Naruto managed out.

Naruto lowered his head once again as he turned away from the pink-haired girl. Sakura could only watch as she saw a small drop of water fall from Naruto's face and hit the water below. She had just taken away his final ray of hope. Her chest felt like it was going to burst. Touching her cheek, she noticed, that she too had a tears in her eyes.

Time passed by slowly for the two, as uncomfortable silence engulfed them. Each torturous second felt like years; years that they could never take back.

As the blond-haired genin lifted his head to look up at the horizon, he saw the sun fully hidden from view and the darkness finally setting in.

"I guess that's it then…" whispered Naruto.

After quickly wiping away the few remaining tears, Naruto turned to face a teary-eyed Sakura.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll still keep my promise… I'll bring Sasuke back to you…"

The smile on Naruto's face tugged on Sakura's heart-strings. She knew that he was having trouble keeping it up.

Naruto looked up at the sky. "Well, it looks like it's getting pretty late. I better head on home."

He then turned to Sakura once more.

Sakura suddenly felt that if she did not say something now, she would lose something very important to her. She didn't know why, but at this point she did not care.

"N-Naruto!" the kunoichi exclaimed, suddenly finding her voice again, "Wai—"

"Goodbye Sakura-chan…" Naruto said softly, cutting off the pink-haired girl. With one last smile, he turned around and began walking away from the bridge, towards his home.

Sakura could only watch the retreating back of the blond-haired boy. With the way Naruto had said his goodbye to her, she knew that there was a double meaning behind those words. The kunoichi suddenly felt something stir up inside of her that she could no longer control. The tears were starting to freely flow down her face.

As Naruto walked down the road towards his house, he could not help but replay the scene that had happened between him and Sakura. He suddenly felt another tear trail down his cheek.

"Damnit, I told myself I wouldn't cry… Damnit! I won't cry anymore!" the blond exclaimed. But no matter how much he told those words to himself, the tears just kept on flowing.

The stars were beginning to fill the night sky, but they would soon disappear; for only a few hours later, the sun would rise again to mark a new day. But to the two friends, it only meant one thing.

It was finally over.

A/N: Whew… I'm finally back after a couple of months. I owe all of my readers a big apology. Life kind of got in the way, but don't worry as I've said before I will end this no matter how long it takes me. All I ask for is patience.

Well, anyway, this story was such an emotional story to write. I think I even felt a little something in my eyes as I wrote this. If you couldn't tell, this chapter was set _before_ Sasuke was rescued which gives you all another clue as to how old everyone is. Oh and yes, I know this chapter was a bit on the short side. It was made to be that way since I didn't want to distract the reader from anything else. The emphasis here was on the emotions between these two characters and nothing else.

Oh, and before any of you Naruto/Sakura fans jump down my throat, please note that this is NOT the end of the story. I'm not done with everyone since some of them haven't had their say in anything yet. The couples are still in the air at this point in time since I have not fully gone through any details with any of them. This is only the first one. So all I ask is that you please be patient. You never know, maybe your wish might come true after all.

Well, this officially ends Chapter 7! Thanks again to all my readers. You guys rock. It's back to the present in the next chapter so…'Till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.


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